Shutdown Jargon: ‘Fairness Under Obamacare,’ More

The government shutdown and looming debt ceiling make for a lot of colorful language, as well as a lot of jargon and shorthand. Here’s our updated guide to some of the most commonly used and/or most creative coinages coming out of the nation’s capital. (Originally published Oct. 8.)

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Associated Press

BEWARE THE BOX CANYON: The set for Disney’s The Lone Ranger in Colorado in 2012.

Box CanyonWild West metaphor; a canyon where enemies can easily pick you off from above. Used by Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) to deride House strategy to defund Obamacare, as in this tweet, where he also takes a jab at Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas): “I didn’t go to Harvard or Princeton, but I can count — the defunding box canyon is a tactic that will fail and weaken our position.”

Clean CR
Shorthand for a “clean continuing resolution” to keep the government funded at current levels – that is, a continuing resolution without any conditions, such as a delay in Obamacare.

Default
The government not paying its bills. Some Republicans say the damage from a default can be limited if the Treasury Department prioritizes debt payments over others. The White House says a deadbeat is a deadbeat in the public eye.

Defunding
Shorthand for eliminating funding already approved to implement Obamacare, known formally as the Affordable Care Act. Also referred to in “Defund/Delay,” as in eliminating funding and/or delaying the rollout of the ACA’s individual mandate.

Debt Ceiling
– The nation’s borrowing limit, set periodically by Congress. Unless it is raised, government loses the ability to borrow money to pay bills, including interest on debt.

Emergency Measures
The Treasury Department, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, has used these powers for decades to extend the amount of time the government can continue borrowing money and making payments at times when the nation has hit or neared its debt ceiling. But Congress hasn’t yet extended U.S. borrowing authority.

EPA

Speaker of the House John Boehner

Fairness Under Obamacare
Phrase used by Speaker John Boehner to push for a delay in the mandate for individuals to buy health insurance, following delays in other parts of the Affordable Care Act rollout and what he calls special waivers for big business and unions, among others. He used the expression Tuesday, Oct. 15, amid talk that the GOP would push for Obamacare subsidies to be stripped from House and Senate lawmakers and cabinet members, but remain in place for rank-and-file staff.

Fever, the
How President Obama has described the effect of conservative members of the Republican Party on the broader GOP. In June 2012, he said, “I believe that if we’re successful in this election, when we’re successful in this election, that the fever may break, because there’s a tradition in the Republican Party of more common sense than that.” More recently, as we noted in a Capital Journal column, Democrats have used “ending the fever” to refer to ending the cycle of recurring, last-minute crises over spending bills and increases in the nation’s borrowing limit.

Grand Bargain
A long-discussed, sweeping budget deal, a goal that has been derailed several times by partisan disagreements. The specifics remain a subject of debate, but a deal likely would include measures to cut deficits and shore up entitlement programs.

Lemmings With Suicide Vests
Derisive term used by Rep. Devin Nunes (R., Calif) to describe fellow House Republicans pushing to tie defunding Obamacare to a budget deal.

Pacemaker Tax
Name used by opponents of the 2.3% medical-device excise tax. Pacemakers are one of the devices covered by the tax.

Pragmatists
The self-given name for a group of frustrated House Republicans who wanted to restore government funding without demanding major changes to the health-care law, an effort they see as doomed to failure. So far their influence seems be less powerful than that of the tea party wing of their party.

Prioritization
The controversial notion that some government payments – particularly interest on U.S. debt – can be put before other payments, thus buying more time for the government to avoid default.

Progressives
Political liberals, but also what tea party supporters sometimes call less conservative Republicans, particularly on Twitter.

RINOs
Republicans in Name Only, pronounced like rhinos. Typically used by tea party supporters to describe establishment or less conservative Republicans.

Speaker Cruz
Put-down used by opponents to highlight Sen. Cruz’s purported role in driving House Republicans’ stances during the budget fight.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

President Barack Obama

Shiny Objects
Term used to describe seemingly exciting and high-profile – but ultimately distracting – ideas and proposals. For instance, President Obama was criticized by opponents during the 2012 campaign for using “bright shiny objects” or “shiny objects” to distract from the country’s core problems. More recently, it has been used to describe the health-care law by Sen. Corker, as it related to GOP strategy on the budget.

True Believers
Loyal followers, sometimes in a derogatory sense. During presidential contest in 2012, Republican nominee Mitt Romney used the term in trying to paint President Obama as out of touch. “Years of flying around on Air Force One, surrounded by an adoring staff of true believers telling you what a great job you are doing, well, that might be enough to make you a little out of touch,” he said. Also used to describe hard-core tea party supporters, or other die-hards.

Wacko Birds
Originated as Sen. John McCain’s description earlier this year of tea-party-tied lawmakers including Rep. Justin Amash (R., Mich.) and Sens. Cruz and Rand Paul. The comment highlighted divisions in the GOP that later re-emerged in the budget showdown.

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